Money, Happiness, & Meaning
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
We’ve all heard the adage, “Money can’t buy happiness,” but the truth is more nuanced. Let's dig into the research.
Webinar: Straight Up Money Talk
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Starting a conversation about money with your children or grandchildren can be difficult, but Foster Group can help. Learn why it’s important to be a positive and proactive role model, how your childhood experiences with money can influence your behaviors and thoughts, and financial lessons you can share with kids of all ages to help position them for success.
What I Have Learned From My Journey of Generosity
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Being generous is a practice that seldom is mastered, takes continuous practice, and must be learned over and over again.
Three Ways to Make Saving Automatic
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Here are some ideas and tools you can use to help make your saving automatic, the biggest key to growing your savings.
Focus on What You Can Control
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
At Foster Group, we focus on what we can control and embrace uncertainty. So, when it comes to your financial plan, what are the areas we can help you control?
Speeding Tickets & Investing
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Recently, I received a gift from the Iowa State Patrol in the form of a speeding ticket. In reflecting on this experience, it occurred to me that I took an unnecessary risk to attain something I didn’t need and ended up sacrificing money I didn’t have to lose.
Kids These Days Aren’t Even Taught How to Balance a Checkbook
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
The truth is, there’s a huge need for all of us to help the people around us make wise decisions with regard to money.
The Ins and Outs of Paying Student Loan Debt
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Whether you are working on paying down student debt yourself, or have children looking to do so, below are some questions to consider.
Does Your Workplace Cultivate a Championship Team?
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
I recently listened to a podcast called, “Invest Like the Best, with Patrick O’Shaughnessy”. The podcast is based on an article written by Michael Lewis in the New York Times Magazine back in 2009, about Shane Battier, a professional basketball player who was the ultimate teammate.
Stop Doing That!
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
We all need people in our lives who have the courage to let us know when we've done something we shouldn't. It's equally wise to have an Advisor who can speak truth to you when it comes to your finances.
Have You Come to Terms with the Reality of Your Retirement?
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
People come to terms with the fact they will one day retire. Maybe not in the next year or two but sometime in the next five. Often, it’s a reality they’ve been denying.
Why I Try Not to Pay Attention to the News
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
While I don’t think this approach is for everyone, I do think many of us would benefit from making some of these decisions.
Saving More Is Easy If You Eliminate Obstacles
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
I listened to a great show on the Hidden Brain podcast a couple months ago: Work 2.0 – The Obstacles You Don’t See. The big takeaway was that often the path to success is not about more motivation but removing obstacles. I think the podcast has had a big impact on my life already. Let me explain.
Accountability: The Key to Unlocking Financial Independence
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
For more than 20 years, I ran competitively. Last year, I spent three to four months training consistently and failed to reach one of my goals.
Money Can’t Buy Happiness, or Can It
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
The book Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending by Elizabeth Dunn & Michael Norton has changed the way I think and feel about spending. It’s based on academic research that identifies ways that spending can increase our joy, something I didn’t think possible before reading this book!
Every Investor’s Real Question: “Am I Going to Be Okay?”
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
In my time working with clients, there is one question asked more than any other, “Am I going to be okay?”
The Two Most Important Questions to Answer When Choosing a Financial Advisor
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
In working with over a hundred prospective clients in the past five and a half years, I’ve found that these are the two most important questions you need to ask yourself...
What Do You Want?
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Tragically, we humans are, to put it bluntly, awful at wanting the things that will create the most meaning and satisfaction in our lives.